Legislator tells of killing bill allowing toxic sludge in Victoria

Rep. Geanie Morrison said she's never before raised a point of order to kill a bill. For toxic sludge in Victoria County, however, she made an exception.

" ... Usually, I can help kill it in other ways," she said of bills she finds fault with. "But this one was so bad that it needed to go away."

Morrison spoke to about 150 people Wednesday at the Victoria Chamber of Commerce's monthly luncheon, updating them on the recently-ended 83rd Legislative Session.

The item at hand was House Bill 2996, filed by Rep. Tracy King, D-Batesville. Morrison said the bill would allow for "a very toxic sludge" to be deposited in a particular area of Victoria.

She said she worked with Jerry James, director of intergovernmental relations for the city of Victoria, and with Victoria County to eventually kill the item.

"It was amazing," she said. "It was not only Victoria County, but when people realized what was going on, there was a huge push to not have that happen."

The affected area is near Inez, and sludge application has taken place as a means of disposal there for some time, James said. He said the bill came because permitting was running out for the company behind it.

James declined to give the company's name because of the ongoing permitting process but said he took issue with the fact that the bill would have altered Texas state law solely for one company's needs.

"You don't need to change state law to address every individual situation," he said. "When you change a law, it brings unintended consequences."